Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-02-18
SENATOR STANFORD on COOPER
ALTON.

SENATOR STANFORD on COOPER
ALTON
Senator Stanford's speech in support Of
his cooperation bill, proves to be remark
ably compact, and, as are all the speeches
of the Senator, as brief as they are forcible.
He wasted neither time nor words in ap-
preaching the subject. The benefits of
associated effort, whether of labor or
brains, with or without capital were
clearly pointed out as being manifest in
the highest development of industry and
inventive genius, and typiied in many of
the great advances made in science, art
and discovery. The Senator expressed the
belief that with the spread of intelli-
gence and the growth of knowledge of the
principles of cooperation, they will be
so far adopted into our civilization as to
underlie the motive force for most
of the industries of the day. There can
be no doubt of this; already organized or
associated labor, genius and skill have
built up some great producing centers, and
have found places in broad commercial
schemes, and in many more business
houses than the general public suppose,
wage-winners are profit sharers upon plans
Of cooperation. Senator Stanford enter
tains the belief that the cooperative prin-
ciple may well extend to agriculture, and
Combinations of men even do farming,
rendering for hire their services to farm
ers," finding in it that continuity of labor
so important to the laborer and conducive
to the maximum power of the production
Of riches, from constant employment"
He explained that this bill is for the pur-
pose of aiding and Strengthening the in
telligence and productive powers of men
without capital. Where intelligence rates
highest, labor-aiding machinery is most
employed and the compensation of the
laborer is highest. lie might well have
added that where intelligence is greatest
among wage-winners, there is least discon-
tent, least of manifestation that takes the
form of the strike and the attempt TO
coerce the employer or COW the worker.
AS the growth of intelligence creates new
demands, to which stimulated productive
industry must respond, he dismisses with
word the fear of the few that the intro
duetion of labor-aiding machinery will
tend TO depreciate labor itself or restrict
the field of its operations. Where there
is greatest ignorance, the wants of the
being are fewest, and the demand for their
supply being limited, capacity is undevel-
oped, and inventive genius and the trained
hand of skilled labor remain unbidden,
and exchange of the products of industry
is least known, and he illustrated these
truths by the case of the Digger Indian,
whose ignorance few wants, inability to
conceive new methods of industry and
non-demand for the results of labor have
their natural sequence in a degraded,
squalid and unambitious and improvident
civilization. He pointed out that cooper
alton is a democratic principle, protec
ton against the possible monopoly of the
few, and renders an offensive one i'm
possible. By legalized or law-recoguizing
cooperation, the cooperative machinery
does not stop, as in the case of
partnerships, ON death of one of the asso-
citation, or by disagreement, but goes on
for the benefit of all the other units, until
a new adjustment can be made. The
association plan gives opportunity for the
safe union of diverse capacities, the fitting
of each into the channel best suited for it,
and best conserves the highest possible
development of the individual capacity of
every unit in the union. As the Senator
further urged, the cooperative principle is
a moral one, training men away from i'm
providence, vicious ways, lawleSsness and
unrest The subject is one so broad and
deep as invite us strongly to enlarge
upon its debate, but it is not
thc az tuiS tAIuS W 10 De-
yond calling attention TO the points
made, as reported by telegraph,
by Senator Stanford in support of the
measure which he is pushing in Congress.
When it was first introduced we took oc-
casion to point cut that ii moved upon the
plane of the highest civilization, and in
the direction that the hest results of hui
man thought and experience indicate
We then showed that ii is correspondent
to the same idel that make; the Ameri.
can Union what ii is, and that it is sub.
structural to the principle of self-govern-
ment and human liberty. The more the
bill and its purposes are examined, the
stronger hold it viii take upon the public
thought. Cooperation is said to be Q
branch of socialism, hut not socialism a.
to-day understood. Just so far as social
ism defines cooperation to be the assoeia
ton of the many to make capital of theil
labor and skill and genius to produce and
distribute among them proftsss none o
them singly can obtain for lack of capital
it describes the plan Senator Stamford
would give legal recognition and pro